Crockett County
Ozona, Crockett County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Formed from Bexar Territory Created January 22, 1875 Organized July 7, 1891. Named in honor of David Crockett 1786-1836. Member of the United States Congress from Tennessee Killed at the Alamo Ozona, County Seat.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Carved from Bexar Territory, Crockett County was created on January 22, 1875, and formally organized on July 7, 1891, with Ozona as its county seat. It honors David Crockett (1786–1836), the Tennessee congressman who died defending the Alamo. The marker records the county's founding and its namesake in a few spare lines.
Why it matters
The county's name binds this remote West Texas country to the memory of the Alamo, folding the legend of David Crockett into the map of the state he helped make.
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Related people
- · David Crockett
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Crockett, David
Ozona, TX
This marker honors David Crockett, the Tennessee frontiersman, soldier, and congressman whose life became American legend. Born in 1786, he fought in the Creek War, served in the Tennessee legislature and the U.S. Congress, and then set out for Texas in early 1836. He died that March defending the Alamo, and the county the marker stands in bears his name.
Fort Lancaster, C.S.A.
Ozona, TX
When Texas seceded and U.S. forts along the frontier were surrendered at the start of the Civil War, Fort Lancaster became part of the Confederacy's thinly held far-western line, garrisoned by the 2nd Texas Cavalry. It guarded the supply route feeding the 1861–62 Confederate campaign into Arizona and New Mexico—an ambitious bid to stretch the Confederacy from ocean to ocean. Between escorting supply trains and watching for Indian raids, soldiers passed dull hours with a camp newspaper and by shooting at coyotes.
Powell, Ernest Malapert
Ozona, TX
Illinois native E. M. Powell came to Texas in 1874 and worked as a surveyor during the railroad boom, often taking land in payment and building up a 185,000-acre holding in present Crockett County. To draw settlers he advertised in newspapers and offered the first families forty acres of free land plus discounts on more. Ozona was founded on his property—complete with a public well, windmill, and lots for churches and a school—and his efforts led to Crockett County's organization in 1891 with Ozona as county seat.
Crockett County Courthouse
Ozona, TX
Completed in 1902 as Crockett County's second courthouse, this American Gothic building was designed by San Angelo architect Oscar Ruffini and built of fine stone quarried nearby. In a remote ranching country, it doubled as the community's social center, hosting cowboy dances, box suppers, and roundup celebrations. In 1909 an arc light was mounted on its steeple to signal the sheriff and guide travelers into Ozona.